


When She Smiles

by Sabu (Sabubu)



Series: Gore and Fire [1]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Magic, Mild Gore, Original Character-centric, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 14:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2736119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabubu/pseuds/Sabu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“Don’t you dare return, monster!” she heard them yell. Her name was no longer Ashley Saunders just as she was neither human nor wholly mutant.</i><br/> <br/>After an unfortunate accident resulting from dark magic, teenage Ash finds herself not only changed, but thrust into a whole new world, far from the small mountain village she once knew. Between adjusting to who she is now and making friends, life at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters will take a lot of getting used to.<br/>---<br/>Starts before the first movie and stops before the second. An introduction to the characters, establishing Ash, and a set up for the rest of the series. This will be relatively short and light on plot, but the following installments will follow the movies more closely. Also, some timeline stuff may be adjusted because the movieverse is a little bit messy. Also, I'm taking liberties with the magic stuff because I'm not that familiar with the Marvel universe's lore but I'm doing my best. (Tags and summary might get an update later.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	When She Smiles

**Author's Note:**

> http://gore-and-fire.tumblr.com/ is the Tumblr "homepage" for this series. It's still being worked on but in the future it will have character bios and fun stuff. Also character drawings. Just for funsies.

The village was private, perched in a mountain range apart from other Canadian towns and cities, so even when a brutal accident occurred, the rest of the world heard not a peep. No one else heard the furious shouting or saw the mob of angry citizens cursing a blood-covered teenage girl as she fled from them. She tripped and tumbled down the slope with nothing but a half-stuffed backpack to cushion her fall.

 _“Don’t you dare return, monster!”_ she heard them yell. Her name was no longer _Ashley Saunders_ just as she was neither human nor wholly mutant.

She managed a couple weeks on her own, living in the woods, feeding on berries and small animals, left alone to feed a hunger she had not experienced before the accident. The neighbors would call it that, or maybe a “murder” but she knew the correct word was “ritual.” The dark living room…the candles…and that cursed book bound in worn leather that destroyed her childhood. When she would dwell on it, see the vision of her mother’s body lying on their hardwood floor, she could do nothing but shake her head vigorously in hopes the pictures would fly out of her ears.

Whether it was fortunate or not remained to be seen, but before long, the outside world _did_ catch up with her. Hikers, breaking in a summer that was just beginning, found her clumsy campsite. Within hours, people flooded the woods, many voices speaking at once.

She fled the cameras and boots invading her temporary home, their questions turning to noise that made her head pound. The officers followed her, keeping the hounding journalists at bay while they attempted their unwanted rescue. She kept running, backpack bouncing on her back, urging her to run faster. Their legs could barely keep up with hers, even as she tripped here and there and faltered when branches swiped her cheeks and limbs.

It was not until she heard a rumbling that she stopped, legs burning and her chest heaving. She looked up at the thick, rustling treetops, squinting through the cloudy glare for whatever made the strange sound. A thin line of blood ran down her cheek, but the cut faded from her flesh. She clutched the strap of her bag when she saw the dark object—a jet of some sort—above her and reached up to wipe the blood away. It smeared into her sweat. She took a step back as a figure came from the sky. A woman gracefully glided down on a breeze with dark skin, white hair, and glowing white eyes. They touched down, cape still whipping around behind them, and Ash's legs begged her to keep running. The person before her blinked and their eyes were normal once again, their smile leading her to believe it was all in her head.

“Wh-what do you want?” she croaked, her voice hoarse after being dormant for so long.

“I want to take you to a safe place for people like us.” She was kind and regal, chin held high yet welcoming.

“Like…us?” The woman nodded and offered her hand, but Ash took another step back.

“People with gifts,” the voices behind her grew closer, “It is a school and I am a teacher. I want to take you there so you won’t have to be afraid anymore.” The pursuers were louder now. “Please, let me help you.” Ash glanced over her shoulder and gulped down the fear and doubt that knotted in her throat. Uncertainty be damned, it was worth a shot.

The police stood around scratching their heads when the trail disappeared without a trace.

-x-

She was a stray animal when they brought her in, mussed black hair covering her frightened green eyes, mangy, and jittery. Dirt smudged her pale skin and she was so drawn into herself, she seemed tinier than usual, especially beside Scott Summers. On the jet, Ash found that Ororo Munroe, the woman, was known as Storm because she controlled weather and Scott was Cyclops due to the strange visor he wore over his eyes. He tried to explain that it helped him control his ability, but she was too startled by his appearance to really care. Not that he was ugly; he was conventionally handsome, with a strong jaw, curly brown hair, and a shiny grin.

Now that they were touched down, she would not leave Ororo’s side, staying on the opposite side from Scott. They lead her through a bright, metal hallway, up an elevator, and through a building much nicer than anything in her hometown. Through tall windows, she saw people her age talking and laughing. There were more inside, sitting on the stairs and loitering in rooms. A few stopped what they were doing and looked at her, but she instantly recognized the difference between anger and curiosity. It really was a school, but it was nothing like the shack she grew up knowing.

They stopped at the end of the hall and Scott opened the double doors. An older man came out from behind his desk and approached them in a wheelchair with an expression even kinder than Ororo’s. He had no hair on his head and lines condensed around his eyes, which seemed to see straight into her soul. She shrank back, her mind reeling with escape routes, wondering how far she could get if she ran away right then. Before she could seriously consider the option, the man spoke and broke her train of thought.

“There is no need to be afraid,” he said gently, “You do not need to escape, you are free to leave if you wish. I just ask that you hear me out first.”

“How—“

_“It is my gift. You have one too, correct?”_

Her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her ears, staring at him. His mouth had not moved but she knew by the sparkle in his eye that it really was him in her head.

“My name is Professor Charles Xavier. This is my school for gifted youngsters. It is a home for people like you and me. _Mutants._ ” Her grip on Ororo’s arm relaxed a little. “Would you like to look around?” She paused for a moment, but with a comforting nod from Ororo, she agreed.

“I’m going to go see Jean,” Scott said, “Excuse me. It was nice meeting you, Ashley.” He nodded to her, flashing his pearly whites again, and took his leave. After that, the other three began their stroll through the halls.

“To the outside world, we are just as I said, a school for gifted children. But really, we are a safe haven for our fellow mutants. Here, we further kids’ education and help them control their abilities in a safe environment,” Xavier explained, the still nervous newcomer walking beside him. Students who had remained inside before were now gone, giving them privacy. He continued to talk, using words like _us_ and _we_ but she couldn’t help but stay skeptical. Maybe part of her was like them, the part that healed wounds a little faster than the other kids in her village, but the hungry part… She stopped in front of a window and gazed out at a small group of boys playing cards.

“Ashley,” Ororo said softly, “You don’t need to be alone anymore. You don’t need to be scared. No one will hurt you here.” One of the boys threw his hand of cards at the one across from him and shouted while the others laughed at him.

“Do you know what happened?” she asked.

“I know you had to survive on your own.”

Xavier put his hand up to stop her and turned his wheelchair, “Do _you_ know what happened?” Ash looked at him, eyes brimming with tears. “May I look?” She turned to him fully and balled her hands into fists at her sides. Hesitantly, she nodded.

 

_**The moon is full, the village quiet. The house is dark, lit by a circle of candles. A woman with brown hair to her shoulders and green eyes stands outside the circle of chalk and wax, a book in her clutches. White knuckles, clenched jaw. She is speaking words under her breath. A young girl with a messy black hair and wide eyes watches from behind her bedroom door. A candle falls over, the woman curses. Suddenly, everything is red and the pain is excruciating. The girl dies and revives; breaks and repairs; screams catch in her throat as she claws at her feverish skin. Shaking cold hands cradle her head, but the woman’s face looking down at her blurs.** _

_**Suddenly the woman’s face is clear, but her eyes will not open. She can smell nothing but death, the taste of copper on her tongue, and her heart pounds in her ears in time with the pounding at the front door. They break in, there is shouting, but they are nothing more than b** _ _**l** _ _**urs as she runs towards them, inhuman growls coming from deep inside. She tears into them with teeth and claws. One man sputters and curses her name before he gurgles into silence.** _

_**The red sun peeks from the horizon and the village is chaotic. Ash flees for the trees in a panic.** _

 

When Xavier opened his eyes again, he was not shocked to see her watching him closely, waiting. He calmed his unease and kept his expression steady.

“I killed them, didn’t I.” It was not a question. Ororo tensed, glancing between the two. “I’m not like you, really. I don’t have a gift, I’m cursed, right? An animal... A monst—“

“No,” he cut her off sharper than he intended, “You are no more a monster than anyone here.” Although, cursed may have been the correct word. “Miss Saunders, I would ask you to remain here, both for your own safety and others’ as well. I wish to learn more about what happened in order to help you.” She blinked and wiped her eyes with the back of her dirt-caked hand but he took note of the blood under her nails and felt his heart sink a little lower.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” He didn’t respond, giving her a small smile instead. It was sympathy for what she went through, but also what it could mean for her in the future. It was pointless to worry about it now, so he turned to his pupil and asked her to find Ash a room. For a moment, Ororo thought they were biting off more than they could chew, but didn’t question him in front of her.

-x-

That night, Ash lie on top of her blankets and stared up at the ceiling, listening to absolute, unnerving nothing. The bed was more comfortable than rocks on the ground, sure, but she missed the bugs singing at night. She missed lying on her old blanket that smelled like home, the moon sifted through the canopy of the woods like a nightlight. Now, the light flooded her room and the walls were too thick to even hear others snoring. Even when she closed her eyes, sleep refused to come. She considered opening the window, assuming there were crickets outside. At least she still had her blanket, which she absentmindedly fiddled with.

Eventually, a grumbling broke the silence and she groaned, setting a hand on her stomach. She tossed off her blankets and lowered her feet to the cold hardwood floor, poking around until her toes touched her slippers. Clad in standard issue baggy pajamas, which were both bland and itchy, she wandered out of her suffocating bedroom and into the dark hallway. For a while, she wandered, wracking her brain to remember where the kitchen was.

The hunger…the craving born from whatever her mother had done nagged at her the whole time, growing until she became nervous, unsure whether a blackout would occur or not. Considering they ended with some dead animal in her hands or at her feet, it was not something she wanted to occur in a place full of people. That meant full access to the kitchen and its contents whenever she felt the need since it seemed to return every few hours, only giving her a break when she slept. Thinking about it made her shiver. Xavier had insisted she was not a monster, but there was no denying she was hiding a beast inside.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for her to find the kitchen and soon she was rummaging through the refrigerator for something…meaty. She fished out the makings for a ham sandwich and sat on a stool at the island to put one together. When she lifted it to take the first bite, the salty smell of the cold ham filled her senses and she couldn’t help but to sigh, the rumbling in her gut already quieted by the mere prospect of such deliciousness. As her teeth broke the bread, the floorboards behind her creaked and she tensed mid-bite, snapping out of her ham high.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize anyone was in here.” It was a boyish voice. She heard a second set of footsteps enter after them, heading to the cupboards while the other joined her at the island. They sat on the other side, just on the edge of her vision. She slowly chewed her food, keeping her head down. After a few uncomfortable moments, she chanced a glance through her bangs, moving her head just enough.

She recognized his face from earlier as the boy who threw his cards. He had long, spiky black hair and a cheery face peppered with a few piercings. There were black smudges around his eyes, half-removed eyeliner no doubt.

“You new here?” he asked, putting his arms on the counter and leaning forward, “Or at least, I’ve never noticed you.”

“Dude.” The second boy, the one who had first spoken, chastised him as he sat down one chair over, two glass bottles of soda in his hands. He was less pale than the other was, had no piercings, and his black hair was longer and pulled into a short ponytail. As she glanced between them, it became clear by their high cheekbones and straight noses that they were related. He slid one of the sodas to the other before holding his hand out to her. Her shoulders relaxed.

“Hi, I’m Adam Dixie,” he said, “Please excuse my brother. He can be insensitive sometimes.” She faltered, sandwich in both hands hovering in front of her mouth, but figured it couldn’t hurt to shake his hand. His smile was brilliant when she did, even though hers was a weak handshake. After she pulled away, she returned to her snack.

“Not much of a talker, huh?” Max asked. She stared at him for a minute, swallowed, and then lifted her head, a ghost of a smile on her face.

“My name is Ash Saunders,” she said finally.

“Ash? Like Ashley?” Adam asked. She nodded. “That’s a pretty name.” Her cheeks darkened and she went back to eating to hide her embarrassment.

“And you give _me_ shit, Mr. Prince Charming,” Max elbowed him in the side, receiving an elbow back, and then turned to the new girl, “So what can you do?”

“Do?” They didn’t seem to care that she still had food in her mouth.

“Your mutation,” Adam clarified, “That is, if you don’t mind us asking.”

She took another bite to delay but found all that was left was crust and thin strips of ham. It wasn’t answering that was hard, but rather how to answer. _I eat people_ was the first thing to come to mind, but it was more accurate to say she ate meat. Although, technically, that wasn’t her mutation. She was a little faster than most people, had better hearing too, but there was only one thing she thought made her special. The other kids thought it was weird but cool that her scrapes and bruises only lasted a few minutes, but when she broke her arm and healed in a day, they started to give her darting glances full of unease. They avoided her as much as they could, but only one or two had the moxie to call her names. Just as she thought about all those times they singled her out and she came home to a distant mother, she finished her sandwich and realized she hadn’t answered their question.

“I heal faster than normal,” she said, rubbing her nose, “What about you?”

Max’s grin was goofy as he held his arm out. Her eyes widened as it disappeared up to his elbow.

“It might not be the flashiest power, but it makes sneaking into the gir—uh…never mind.”

Adam rolled his eyes and held out his hand as well, palm up. As it turned out, he was the flashy one; static started at his fingertips and then his whole hand was crackling. She almost toppled off her stool as a bolt cracked louder than expected. Max slapped his hands over his mouth and choked down his laughter while Adam gave her an apologetic smile and stopped the electricity.

“I also have precognition, but just like, glimpses in super vague dreams. It’s not all that useful most of the time.”

“Is everyone here so open about their powers?” she asked. It was an honest question and the brothers gave an honest answer.

“Only the show-offs.” Adam wore a grin strikingly resembling Max’s and yet, his made her cheeks turn hot. Feeling uncomfortable suddenly, she gathered what she had retrieved from the fridge and started to put it all away. After tossing her paper plate into the silver trashcan, she turned to the brothers, fingers laced nervously at her chest, and tried a smile.

“It was nice meeting you,” she said, quieter than intended, “Goodnight.” Without another word, she bowed her head and hurried out into the dark hallway. In the corner of her eye, just before she turned the corner, she saw them elbow each other in the sides again.

-x-

Ash untucked her legs and settled back against the tree that kept her out of the blaring sun. Instead of watching the students walking past, she absentmindedly traced the grass blade indents left on her leg. It was only her second day and the Professor had said she could join classes when she was ready, which she was grateful for. In the meantime, she wanted to observe the others, maybe get a hint on how to interact with them.

In her village, the only people she interacted with, other than negative encounters with other kids and the mayor, was the elderly couple that lived next door. The old woman, Fleur, was a sweet lady of 72 yet was as independent and lively as any other villager. She and her husband Yancy ran a vegetable garden and often shared their harvest with Ash and her mother. Fleur also helped Ash with the grocery shopping, along with her homework and any other chores. She was more of a mother than her own…

If it weren’t for Fleur and Yancy, she never would have spoken a word.

“Hey! Ash!” She jolted out of her daze, looked up, and turned to the side to see a couple of familiar faces approaching, joined by two unfamiliar ones. Max, who had called to her, waved and she waved back tentatively. As they walked up, she recognized another as the boy he had thrown cards at. He was blond and bored looking, flicking something in his hands open and shut. The third boy had short, brown hair and kindness that shown in his bright blue eyes. By looks alone they seemed like opposites.

“Ashley, right?” the happy one asked, putting out his hand. She nodded and shyly shook it. “I’m Bobby Drake. That’s John Allerdyce.”

“Pyro,” the blond cut in. A smirk instantly replaced the disinterest, an expression that threw her off briefly. She glanced down at his hands and realized he was holding a silver zippo lighter with flames painted on the side, which he promptly flicked open and shut. She avoided John’s eyes and looked at Bobby through her bangs, smoothly moving her gaze from the lighter to his face. Bobby did a half roll with his eyes.

“They call me Iceman,” he added, “You got a name?” Did everyone at the school have a superheroname? It never did occur to her to have a special identity. Her mutation was so boring and her curse was so…morbid. It was just easier to be normal…

“Just Ash,” she decided.

“All the good names are taken,” Max joked.

“Obviously, _Invisiboy_ ,” John retorted.

“I hate you.”

Adam slipped out of the summer sun and took a spot beside her in the shade, “Don’t mind those two. John’s a hothead and Max is an idiot.” Bobby sat across from them while the other two continued to bicker. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“There’s one more person you should meet,” he explained, “She’ll show up any minute.”

“Assuming she didn’t find a spot for a catnap,” Adam said, but just as he did, a sandwich bag flew into his head, smacking him in the temple. He yelped in surprise and caught it before it touched the ground, then snapped his attention to who had thrown it, his mouth half open and ready to reprimand them.

“Hey~, buddy~,” came a girls’ voice, dragging out the Ys with a lazy drawl mixed with a Japanese accent. Her black hair was messy yet stylish and to just above her shoulders, a strip of red on the side of her head, and her eyes were dark with slight bags beneath them. After taking a seat with them, she gave Ash a sleepy smile and put up her fist. Ash stared at her, but then mimicked the action, unsure of what was supposed to happen. The girl bumped hers to pick up the slack. The squabbling duo finally sat down, each on one side of Bobby to avoid the other.

“Name’s Fionrys, or Fion if you prefer. Watanabe if you care about a surname, not that it’s real. Man, it’s nice not being the only girl in this motley crew, “she paused to look over Ash, “Huh. Still surrounded by white bread, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m kidding! Shut your face, John!” She leaned over and snatched the bag from Adam, opened it, and offered the chips inside to her new friend. This girl…Her introduction was so lazy yet once she started talking, she didn’t seem to stop. Ash took a chip but sniffed it before eating it.

“So, you grow up in the wild or something?” John’s snide remark was met with numerous eyes rolled but Ash’s face and ears burned as she was unable to say anything back.

“Oh my god, you can’t just ask someone if they grew up in the wild,” Max said.

“Someone smells a potato chip like they’ve never seen them before, what else should I ask?” Cutting their argument before they could start, Fion stepped in with a little more decorum, which seemed to surprise Adam a bit.

“You lived in some small mountain village in Canada, right? They’ve got chips up there, don’t they?” she asked. A pit grew in Ash’s stomach.

“Most of our food was grown locally,” she explained, “How do you know where I’m from?”

“I watch the news.” Ash tensed, her hands balling into fists.

“Being too lazy to change the channel doesn’t really count,” Bobby said, but then turned to Ash, “There was a story about a teenager found in the mountains up there, but all they got was a blurry photo. And then you showed up here.” She wanted to ask what else they knew, but her throat was dry. Judging by the looks on their faces, the journalists hadn’t tracked the story far. It was likely, especially because the village was so private about their matters, the truth would never be uncovered, much less aired.

“See? It was a fair question,” John said and Max told him to shut up. Fion offered her another chip, but she declined stiffly. Whether it was likely or not, the idea of anyone finding out what happened was…

“You know, pretty much everyone’s got a messed up story in this place,” Fion said with a grin, “Hell, I smuggled myself outta Japan a few years ago. So you’re not weird or anything, at least by our standards.” Ash was thankful for the effort, but words couldn’t soothe her twisting gut. She had a chance at a new home, a _real_ home, and nothing could ruin that for her now.

-x-

 

_**The moon is full, the village quiet. The house is dark, lit only by candles surrounding a circle drawn in chalk upon the living room floor. She watches from behind her bedroom door as her mother hunches over that old book. Her heart pounds in her chest, her hands are clammy, and her legs are shaking. The voices…the voices break the silence. She hears her mother mumbling and her skin tingles. The light from the candles burns red, spiraling around the ceiling. But the window is open and a candle falls. The circle is broken.** _

_**Agony. Fear. Heat. Anger. She is so hungry the pain tears at her stomach. She looks up from the body, dyed red and no longer struggling. Blurry faces are staring at her, their mouths moving but she cannot hear anything over the blood rushing in her ears.** _

_**She is sitting in the grass now, under the tree, but there is no sun, only pure black. The faces are nothing now but she can hear their voices. Judging, accusing hurting; she claws at her ears and doubles over to unleash a shill scream** _

_**You’re a monster!** _

“… _sh!”_

_**No one wants you here!** _

“… _SH!”_

_**Leave! Just die!** _

“ _ASH!”_

 

“ASHLEY!”

Adam shook her harder than the previous twenty times and it finally did the trick. Her eyes snapped open and the whimpering stopped. The itchy pajamas stuck to her sweat-drenched body and her blankets felt like weights, both suffocating and trapping her. She kicked once before flailing to get the blankets off. Adam backed off to avoid a slap to the face, but then leaned forward and helped get them off before grabbing her shoulders again.

“Ashley,” he said calmly, but she had gone back to frustrated whimpers, “Ash, hey, it was just a dream.” She continued to struggle a little, but finally looked at him, her brow knitted together and her eyes wild. “It was just a dream. A bad dream.”

“D-dream?” her voice cracked. She started to relax, her shoulders drooping slightly.

“Nightmare.”

“You…”

“I’m sorry, I was on my way back to bed when I heard you in here…Are you okay?” She tried to respond, but her voice cracked again and she tensed up, quivering in his hands. Her head dropped and she pushed him away, looking off to the side to hide her face as she drew her knees to her chest. He didn’t move closer again, but continued to talk to her.

“It must be rough being here,” he said softly, “I still get homesick…But you’re not alone. We’re friends now, you know.”

“G-go to bed,” she choked, shivering. She brought her hands to her ears and tangled her fingers in her hair. “I’m fine…So go.”

“But—“

“Please!” He jumped and stepped backwards, hands up in defense. Before he could say or do anything else, the door opened behind him and Ororo entered. She grabbed his shoulder firmly and urged him to leave.

“Go back to bed now,” she said.

He hesitated in the doorway, hand on the frame, and glanced behind him as their teacher sat on the bed. Then, he slipped away, sighing as he watched the floor.

Ororo sat with her for a while, listening to Ash’s uneven breathing, broken by soft hiccups once her tears ceased. For a while longer, they sat in silence. Finally, the girl lifted her weary head and peeked at her through her bangs, lips still shut tight.

“Feel better?” Ororo asked. Ash nodded. “Do you miss home?” She shook her head, paused, and then cleared her throat.

“I was on the news.”

“And you’re worried others will find out what happened.”

“They’ll…be scared of me too.” Ororo frowned and moved closer, comfortingly setting her hand on Ash’s upper arm.

“The Professor covered up your story, Ash, right after your meeting. They don’t have anything on you and won’t be investigating any further. The village you came from…they don’t want the attention either. The only way anyone will know is if _you_ tell them.” Or if she did the same thing to someone else… She swallowed the lump returning to her throat. “I saw you made some friends today. Think that will be good for you. Just try to not worry too much, alright?”

“Thank you…” Ororo smiled.

“If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

Ash tucked herself in after Ororo left and flipped her pillow to its cooler side. It didn’t take long for her to slip back into a dreamless sleep.

Down the hall, Adam lie awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His eyelids were heavy, but curiosity and worry continued to tug at his mind. Max snored quietly in the bed beside him, but all he heard were the new girl’s whimpers. Eventually, he pulled the blankets over his shoulders and flipped over, face pressed into his pillow.

-x-

The next day, Adam walked by the kitchen on his way to his next class when he noticed someone sitting there. Ash was sitting at the island, the same spot where he had met her the other night. Once again, she had sandwich makings set out, her hand stuffed in a package of deli-sliced roast beef. He stood silently in the doorway and watched as she ate one, put one on her bread, and then repeated before putting the other slice of wheat on top. She took a bite, chewed, and then took another before the first was down. He contemplated walking away, obviously she was focused on her food and he didn’t want to interrupt.

“Who’s there?” she asked and he stopped mid-turn. She twisted around on the stool, saw him, and paused, eyes widening for a second.

“It’s just me,” he said, “I was just walking by…” Again. He felt his neck heat up and rubbed it. “I’ll go, sorry.”

“N-no, wait,” she slipped off and approached him, “I…wanted to talk to you but I woke up late.” She held her lunch in both hands and kept her head down, bangs falling into her face and hiding her eyes.

“Listen, I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have come into your room without permission. I mean, we just met and it was probably weird and—”

“Thanks.”

“Wait…what?” His neck burned more as he stared down at her. “You’re not mad? Or creeped out?” She looked to the side and he saw the tips of her ears turn pink.

“N-no, I’m glad you were there to wake me up,” she paused, “Just…don’t make a habit of it.” A joke? He smiled warmly and without thinking, set his hand on her upper arm. Her shoulders stiffened and she finally looked up at him, eyes wide and face red from ear to ear. Before either of them could speak, the bell rang. He quickly took his hand back and stepped away, laughing sheepishly.

“I-I should get to class,” he said, “I’ll see you later, okay? Okay. Bye.” She watched him run out and down the hall, but her gaze fell back to the floor, lips shut in a straight line.

 


End file.
